Were early carriers prohibitively expensive force multipliers?

Was an early aircraft carrier too expensive to use as a force multiplier?

Not relative to a battleship; carriers and contemporary aircraft were comparatively affordable ways to add reach and reconnaissance.

An early carrier was not automatically too expensive to support a raider or fleet force. Aircraft carriers were costly in absolute terms, while battleships demanded substantially greater capital investment. Interwar aircraft were also much less expensive than the complex naval aircraft and weapon systems of later decades. The useful comparison is the extra capability a flight deck bought relative to another capital ship.